Archive for the ‘Podcast’ Category

Without a doubt I think this is going to be the most popular CJIQ podcast, maybe ever! Sarah Sellers is from iKas international, an international recruitment agency based in HK, Singapore, Australia, London and New York (aka the glamour locations!). I remember when I first had a call from a recruiter and being caught completely off guard so I approached this interview from the perspective of a complete beginner. Whether you’re changing jobs for the first time or it’s been a long time since you dealt with a recruiter, or you just wanted an open and frank discussion with a recruiter this episode is for you.

I think the big takeaway from this podcast is trust, and finding a recruiter that you feel you can work with. From my experience as well there are a lot of “slimey” recruiters, but there are also a number of diamonds in the rough. Go for coffee with a number of recruiters and find the one you feel comfortable with.

If you want to contact Sarah, you can reach her via ssellers@ikasinternational.com, or take her advice and give her a call at +852 3970 6604 (Skype does international numbers!), or hit twitter at ikashongkong. Let her know you heard her on the podcast.

I’m also happy to announce the official release of Java Interview Bootcamp, my first book under the CJIQ banner. If you’re looking for a new developer role then stop googling for example interview questions and check this out. The first half of the book is dedicated to the “soft skills” of interviewing, which I think is the most important part of the interview. The second half is a comprehensive core Java review. The book has been in beta for 2 months and I’ve had some incredible feedback from people who now have a new job thanks to this book. I’d love it if you could check it out now.

Things have been quiet recently on the website whilst I’ve been travelling back to the UK. Whilst there I took the time to sit down with my good friend Jim Bennett and talk about technical tests. I loved his article he wrote for CJIQ (you can see the post here) which I took a ton of value from and really wanted to sit down with him and expand the discussion. We ended up talking for an hour but it’s packed with incredible information, including:

The benefits and negatives of moving abroad during your career

What are technical tests and what are companies trying to achieve with them?

The truth that companies want you to succeed

Why most interviews suck

Why you need to contact the interviewing team directly

How to use the job spec to write the best code

The tips you need to follow to give you the best chance of progressing

I am really excited for you to listen to episode 3 of the podcast which features my first ever guest, Mike De Luna (www.michaeldeluna.com). The topic of what a good developer looks like is one I love to discuss. It’s so much more than being a good coder! In this discussion me and Mike break down what the skills a top developer has and how to express these during an interview, and also what facets a bad developer has.

This episode is absolutely packed with information and tips. What do you thinkmakes a good developer? Put it in the comments below!

Episode 2 of the corejavainterviewquestions.com podcast. It’s much easier to leave a bad impression than a good one. It’s much easier to avoid doing bad things than doing good things. In this episode we talk about what to avoid!

The very first episode of the corejavainterviewquestions.com podcast. For every job you apply for there are going to be hundereds of applications of people equally good or maybe even better. What can you do to stand out of the crowd? In this episode we discuss 5 actions you can take right now to help you get your next job interview and, fingers crossed, land the job.